Might of the Pen
by Chicken Yuki
Summary: Romance, Action, Suspense: All elements in an epic penned by farmer-turned-author Jill Jenkins. And she made those she knew behave OOC in it. Not only did crowd not enjoy it, she also must face her story's villianess in real life! How will you fare, Jill?
1. Jillian the Light?

_Disclaimer: I do not own this property known as "Harvest Moon", for it is the creation of Natsume and Marvelous Interactive. Acknowledge this as truth._

* * *

**Harvest Moon**

**Might of the Pen**

_A shadow of despair was upon the kingdom of Lunaria. The conquest of Marylyn, the Mistress of Shadows, was all but complete having conquered not only countless territories, but also the legendary hero himself. With her grand ambition so close to fruition, only two figures stood in her way._

_Back in the Grand Hall of Lunaria Castle, the noble King Timothy Trent sat at the throne, contemplating the situation._

"_How could the Great Rock have fallen so easily? Could Marylyn's power truly be that terrifying? No… I musn't lose hope. We have but one hero left, but I haven't heard a word from her since she pursued the Dark Knight Gray for vengeance. I must have faith!" he thought._

"_Uh, Sir! It …er…seems we got us some sort of visitor person!" The spectacled court mage announced._

"_Tell whoever it is that the King is too busy to deal with such trifling affairs right now! I can't afford to waste my time during a war!" King Trent ordered._

"_Ah, okay then… I'll just have to tell Jillian the Light to back off then! Sorry to waste your time, my king." The court mage replied._

"_Wait, Rick! What did you just say?"_

"_Jillian the Light, sir. I think it's kinda strange you'd shoo off a great hero, but I won't be questioning orders anytime soon! Of she goes, then!"_

"_Wait, no! Rick, stop! Why didn't you who she was earlier?" King Trent demanded._

"_Well, uh… you did say you were busy, so I didn't think it matter."_

"_Ah, geez… rescind the order! Let her in! And please tell me the identity of my audience before do such a thing again…" King Trent sighed._

"_Sorry my King. Durr… I'm so stupid!" Rick replied while knocking on his forehead._

_At once, a presence of awe-inspiring hope filled the hall as the kingdom's last great hero made her presence known. Her soft, flowing brunette hair; her brilliant amethyst eyes; and her shining white armor was a great relief to behold. Slowly but surely, she made her great stride towards the great king until she was within a decent distance and kneeled down._

"_Ah, Jillian the Light! I am much thankful for your eventful return! How did your pursuit with Gray go?" King Trent asked._

"_That cruel bastard! I was finally able to corner him, and nearly finished him off in our duel, but then Marylyn stepped in repelled me as they fled!" she reported._

"_A shame… so we were close in eliminating a key threat, only to be thwarted in the end. At the very least, it is clear that Marylyn still holds great value over her knight. Hopefully, it won't come down to it, but our last stand may come down to having to face their combined might. This doesn't bode well…" the King confessed._

"_My Liege… what about Sir Rock?" Jillian asked._

"_Ah, yes… your longtime mentor. I am sad to say that after a decisive battle with Marylyn, he fell under her terrible power and was taken by her evil forces. Surely, he fought bravely, but alas…"_

_Jillian suddenly formed her hand into a mighty fist of rage._

"_No… NO!! SIR ROCK!! I… I WON'T LET THIS STAND!" she proclaimed._

"_Jillian, calm yourself!" King Trent orderd, "You are the kingdom's last and greatest hope. We cannot afford to loose you to sudden reckless abandon. If you are to stand a chance, you must remain composed."_

_Jillian's anger then turned to sorrow._

"_I'm… I'm so sorry, your liege. It's just… Sir Rock meant so much to me. I didn't believe it was possible that anyone could defeat him."_

_King Trent nodded understandingly._

"_You must hold on… Unfortunately, I have no choice but to invest my strength in protecting the Capital from evil forces, but I believe in you. Sir Rock's power and experience lies with you… as well as my faith."_

"_Y-your highness..."_

_The wise and handsome king rose from his throne to approach the disoriented warrior._

"_M-my liege? What are you--"_

_Before she could say any further, the emotionally frail heroine was caught was in the embrace of her ruler._

"_I promise, you will have my aid." He assured her._

_At that moment, Jillian could not hold back her tears. All she could do was cry rivers upon her king's chest._

* * *

"Well, what'd you think?" an eager girl with a brunette ponytail cried.

The audience before her at Forget-Me-Not Valley's Inn was filled with mixed reactions upon the extensive manuscript they were exposed to. Apparently, it was made up various people whom inspired the story's characters.

"Rick is NOT a bumbling dumbass… even if he fits the image of a Court Magister."

"And Karen isn't some homicidal S&M slut who has her head up in her ass!"

"I'm pretty sure Vesta isn't a 50 ft. tall ogre who eats babies for breakfast!"

"What's you're problem with Popuri? And Chickens for that matter? Making her some maniacal Chicken Necromancer like that…"

"Why'd you make Cliff such a hopeless, suicidal emo anyway? Just to give you another reason to look good?"

"Ha, looks like someone's got a crush on a guy or two… you really like making Rock and Trent sound like total hotties. And what's this? It almost sounds like you're trying to seduce Gray to the "side of light", huh? Having a little fantasy harem running about in your head?"

"BACK OFF!! SHE'S JUST TRYING TO WRITE A STORY HERE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE IT SO HARSHLY, YEESH!"

The crowd was astounded to see a certain braided red-head stand up against them.

"All of the characters were very well-written and thoroughly described, and you all of you loose it just because she doesn't use everybody in a flattering way! Well you know what? Bullocks, to you! Not everyone in an epic can be the good guy, or else it would be a boring! And maybe some of you just can't stand seeing your bad sides paper! Take that! Who's the jerk now? Look at me now! I'm here to kick ass and drink cups of tea, but I'm all out of tea, baby! "

Regardless of her valiant defense, most of the crowd left grumbling very disparaging things about the hopeful writer.

"Aw… don't listen to them, Jill! They're just jealous about your amazing writing talent!" the red-head defended.

"Thanks, Ann." She said. "But… you didn't happen to defend me because I made you such an awesome sidekick in my story, did you?"

Ann froze briefly, and then started laughing nervously.

"N-no! Of course not! We're good friends, aren't we, Jill? You're allowed to make me a hideous Swamp Monster and you'd still get a raving review from me if you deserved it, you know? You can always count on me!" Ann replied shakily.

"…Right. Always a pal, Little Annie."

"Not a Problem, Big Jill!"

The affable pair shared then a laugh and hug.

"I'm sorry to say, but I gotta head back to Mineral Town, too. Dad'll freak if I'm not back soon enough." Ann mentioned regretfully.

"That's okay, I understand. That Inn needs all the help it can get. And you're one of the best sweepers it can have." Jill smiled.

"Thanks. If you're in need of another bad guy, I know a certain Black-haired Chicken Freak that could use a good pounding in that story of yours." Ann smirked, "Later."

"Bye."

The red-haired tomboy then left in a hurry, leaving a very quiet atmosphere for the aspiring writer to slam her head upon a desk.

"Ugh… my writing sucks after all, doesn't it? I know you were trying to stand up for me all that time, Ann, but seeing all those offended faces… I'm not sure if I can go on with this story. I actually feel like a real tool just for thinking of writing in the first place…" she sighed to herself.

"Um… excuse me..." a soft voice called out.

Slowly, but surely, Jill lifted her head and turned to see a bespectacled librarian with black hair who stayed behind the ornery pack.

"Mary? What are you still doing here?"

* * *

_Yep, Cliffhanger. I'm making this baby a two-shot. So… what IS Mary still doing there? Is she there to make any comments about why she was designated as the Villain of the story? And why would she make her the villain in the first place when she's crushing on Rock? Or the Doctor? Then again, she could've been planning her "Dark Knight" to suddenly turn as suggested earlier._

_Just be patient for now and give me some feedback if you can, folks…_


	2. Marylyn, Mistress of Shadows!

_After a long, perilous struggle, Jillian the light has finally succeeded in reaching the innermost sanctum of the Temple of Shadows. The ominous Marylyn stood right across from her while draped in her dark cloak of doom, mirroring the brave heroine's stare of scorn._

"_Apparently, it's come down to this, however, I didn't quite expect it to be here…" the enchantress' normally sultry voice said with much bile._

"_Everything you've been responsible for… I'll end it right here and now!" Jillian the light proclaimed._

_Marylyn's arm started to tremble violently._

"_Yes… it shall be you who will end right here… you who will pay for claiming the life of my Knight..." she spoke while restraining her wrath._

"_IT WAS YOUR KNIGHT THAT SLEW MY BROTHER! AND IT WAS YOU WHO TOOK AWAY SIR ROCK!!" Jillian cried._

_Marylyn slammed down her convulsing arm with great fury._

"_I see. So you act on vengeance and claim it to be your justice? An interesting justification…" she scoffed._

"_Don't you dare refute me! It was you who took so many precious lives from me! It was you who had this pointless ambition from the start! And it is you who will always be wrong!" Jillian argued._

"_Perhaps…" Marylyn began._

_The dark temptress then took a few steps forward._

"_Perhaps it is you who will pay the ultimate price for everything…" she finished._

_Suddenly, her body pulsed with nightmarish energy. Jillian prepared her sword of justice and prepared to gage her foe, but she was not fast enough. In an instant, Marylyn's hand was outstretched right before her, pulsating with dark lightning…_

* * *

"AAAHH!!" Jill screamed in a sudden panic.

"KIYAH!" Mary cried as she jumped back.

At that moment, a frightened Jill was shaking like a leaf, while a disoriented Mary kept her hand drawn back.

"Forgive me, Mary!!" Jill squeaked in a helpless voice.

"Huh?"

For awhile, Mary simply sat by with a curious look while Jill looked back in a dubious panic.

"Um…seriously Mary, what are you still doing here? Aren't you super pissed that I made you into a sadistic, megalomaniac witch in my story?" Jill asked.

Mary simply shrugged it off and shook her head.

"Not really. I was just curious about why you went about it as you did… I mean, for the greatest threat to the universe, she sounds more like someone a guy would kill for to meet in a dark alley." she explained.

"Ah, yeah… that's the sort of angle I was going for. "Beautiful, but deadly"." Jill explained.

"I think Marylyn's way more than simply "beautiful"…" Mary retorted uneasily.

The raven-haired woman then proceeded to turn the manuscript back a bunch of pages to reach the part where the villainess is first introduced, and started reading her description aloud:

"_The great and terrifying mistress revealed herself to be a dark and mystifying beautify: her long, jet-black haired was styled extravagantly in a braid that fell loosely from her right shoulder; while her deep, lucid pools of dark amethyst could stare deep into one's soul and enchant it in an instance. She wore a long, flowing, sleeveless dark violet gown with the bottom outstretched every which way; and draped over it was a fine, obsidian cloak that emanated with an uncanny power. She had a demure air about her, but a very commanding presence… one that somehow inspired fear and awe all at the same time."_

Mary then pulled back to resume giving Jill her personal feedback.

"My goodness, if my good friend Mitchel were to read this one day, he might actually die of a heart attack trying to process what sort beauty this woman possesses…" she added, "and how in the world did you come to arrive at her voice being "sultry"? I doubt I could pull off such a thing with a voice like mine…"

"Relax, Mary, it's fiction. But, gee, was I really that overboard with the ultimate bad guy?" Jill asked.

"Jill… by some amazing phenomenon, Marylyn's description goes on to be more grandiose than Jillian's, Rocks, and the King's combined…" Mary revealed while looking over the manuscript.

Jill gulped.

"Wow… then that must mean…I must secretly like you like that or something."

"P-please, let's not go there if you're joking." Mary insisted.

"Fair enough."

"In all honesty, though, why is it that you decided to cast a character based on me as the main antagonist, and devote so much time in developing her?" Mary asked.

Jill turned her head to the side and let out a big, deep sigh before look at her writing critic once more.

"As funny as this sounds, I actually chose that role because we're good friends. Not only that, but we seem to find ourselves competing in interesting little intellectual rivalries for fun. And now, I guess, we've officially becomes competitors in the field of writing when I think about it." Jill explains.

"Rivalries? I… didn't know you saw it that way." Mary answered nervously.

Jill shrugged.

"Rivalries, Competitions, whatever… the thing is, we seem to find a bunch of ways to match wits with each other, even if it's just all in fun. And that was a primary reason I thought you would make a highly competent adversary." She explained.

"By why the "Big Bad" of all roles? That's a pretty big role to fill…"

"And you're perfect for it!" Jill cheered, "In nearly every movie, novel, or RPG I've experienced, the ones that truly stood out had really awesome villains! You know that old saying: "It's the bad guy that makes the story"? Well, Star Wars had Darth Vader, Final Fantasy VII had Sepiroth, and now the Legend of Lunaria shall have Marylyn! If I'm writing okay, she's seriously going to be one of the coolest villains in existence! And I'll owe it all to you!"

"Uh… I'm not sure if that came out right with your enthusiasm, but I understand what you're trying to say. And yes, I actually feel privileged by being of your story in a big way, even if some of the choices made were a little… questionable to me." Mary admitted.

"Of course! We're buddies, you and I! There's no way I'm not letting you get away without receiving the star treatment in my epic!" Jill grinned.

"But… isn't Ann the sidekick?"

"One of the coolest around!" Jill interjected, "You know how much the audience really goes for the sidekick! A prime supporting role seems to get a lot of attention, and that sounds right up Ann's ally!"

Mary briefly leaned her head forward and twitched for a moment.

"…that almost made Ann sound like an attention hog…" she thought discreetly.

"So yeah, you see? I happen to put a little more thought into my writing than others would realize." Jill mentioned proudly.

"And that brings me to another point…" Mary continued. "I know you were just trying to have fun with your fantasy world, but maybe you really were rather harsh in your portrayals of the others. Almost ruthlessly so…"

It was then Jill's turn to twitch.

"Agh…"

"With one character, you have a _"scantily clad diva with a thirst for ripe virginity"_, while with another, you mention a _"flat-topped ogre whose bulk matched the intensity of his odor_"… as cute as the rhyme you nearly accomplished with that last one, the qualities you're using to describe them come off as too offensive and obvious as to who they pertain to. Maybe it wouldn't hurt if you made the characters connections more ambiguous, and possibly even develop them more than slapping them with a simple label and stick with it. Wouldn't you agree that even lesser characters deserve a chance to be decently appealing instead of facing the condemnation of being scoundrels without a cause? There could be a reason behind "Kallen's" overactive sexual drive, even though she's ultimately just a tool used for Marylyn's ambition… and maybe all the "smelly ogres" have gone barbaric due to some crisis in their home environment?" Mary suggested.

"Wow… I never even considered those options. All of that actually sounds like a very good way to make my story all the more compelling while shining some light on these crazy characters." Jill pondered.

"I mean, you don't have to go overboard on the humanizing just for the sake of appeasing everyone… just don't go overboard to the point of writing something overly offensive." Mary added.

"Right…" Jill confirmed.

"By the way, that fight between Marylyn and Rock the Almighty made me very curious. I understand that the outcome was meant to be in the hero's great defeat, but I couldn't help but think that the whole chapter itself was written quite graphically. The Mistress of Shadows pretty much beat the guy to a mere pulp as if she had something very personal against him. I know… he's supposed to be the hero, and Marylyn should loathe a major obstacle in her way, but… I get the impression that she sprung on him for doing something really unforgivable to her…?" Mary noted.

"Oh, that? I happened to be writing that part when I saw Rock flirting with the other girls in the valley…" Jill confessed frankly.

"So, you mean to say… for a brief time, you practically took over Marylyn's mind as the author to give Rock a sound thrashing?" Mary guessed.

"Don't get me wrong: Rock can be a very nice guy when he tries. He just utterly fails when he doesn't." Jill grumbled.

Mary was almost caught in a fit of giggles as she heard that.

"Oh my… that's… certainly a creative way to take out your anger. Temporarily becoming the antagonist in your story just to make someone suffer! I should… probably try that sometime!" she replied.

"Hey, as long as he doesn't realize it was really me who wanted to kick his butt in that portion of the story, everything should be just fine." Jill smirked.

"I also notice that Jillian seems to have a growing fondness on the side with Rock's incapacitation… and it just happens to be on King Trent. Do you also happen to like…"

"Tim?" Jill interrupted. "I guess, I really do like him, too. I mean, the guy's way more sensitive than that shameless flirt Rock, and he's always there when I need him…"

"Not to mention that you had Queen Ellie killed off in the Prologue…" Mary frowned.

"Well, that too, but I didn't write that particular part of malice. I really did consider how Tim would feel if his faithful nurse left him in one way or the other when I imagined the scenario… I think it was actually the loss of his Queen that developed him into an even more compelling character, as sad as it is to admit." Jill explained.

"I have to admit, all those Monologues about the King's feelings for his late Queen… were really touching." Mary replied.

"Tim can be a very poetic guy when you know him well enough." Jill added.

"Unfortunately, that doesn't entirely answer my question. Please be upfront about it and tell me the truth…" Mary insisted.

"Right, well… I think I actually see him more like a big brother to count on. If there's anyone who I feel all warm and fuzzy and heart-achy around, it's Rock. Like I said, he can be a really nice guy when he tries… and there may even be more than that if I can know him better." Jill finally answered.

Mary nodded.

"I won't doubt you… I happen to recall a side of him like that once. He actually approached me before without being his usual flirty self, and decided to be genuinely nice to me. I must've been upset at the time, because he tried to cheer me up then and there, but maybe it was you who was meant to see just how much he really has to offer." She rationalized.

"That's nice… besides, I was really hoping not to have and excuse to take Tim away from his precious Queen in this world, too." Jill quipped lightheartedly.

"…By the way, there was actually one last thing that got me curious about your story…" Mary brought up.

"Okay, go ahead. Shoot."

"Marylyn… and her ambition… there seemed to be snippets and hints as to what her true motivation might be. It lead me to believe that she wasn't doing it entirely for the sake of being evil and all-powerful, and it bothered me the entire time… especially up to the point of her climactic duel with Jillian. Is my hunch right?"

Jill paused for a moment, and then started fidgeting around.

"You… just may have nailed a good point there, Mary. I'm sorry, but I really don't want to reveal any major points before I'm done writing up the story, but what I can say is that there really was one major drive that lead her into conquering Lunaria, and the keyword to that is "vengeance". That's the only hint I'm willing to give you."

"I see. Well then, I'll try and have fun guessing as to what Marylyn's purpose was while you get to work on the conclusion. I'm looking forward to the final version." Mary replied.

"And I'm really looking forward to finally seeing that story of yours all finished up. It's been awhile since I looked at that thing, you know." Jill replied.

"About that: Gray and Mitchel are looking it every once in a while, so it may take me longer without being able to backtrack on my story as often as I'd want." Mary sighed.

"Wow, that sucks!" Jill gripped. "So, um… about this Mitchel guy you keep mentioning… he's the Mineral Town Farmer and your best buddy over there, am I correct?"

Mary nodded.

"Good. How's he doing?"

"Oh! He just recently started dating Popuri after this really funny Valentine's Day Incident. The two of them together look really cute, and Popuri's starting to act way more grown-up with a hubby around!" Mary cheered.

"Great, that man's even ahead of me in the love department…" she grumbled to herself. "How about you and Gray?"

"Gray? I think my "Dark Knight" is finally starting to come around to my "seductive charms" and is just about ready to serve "his mistress"" Mary joked around with a giggle.

"You certainly have more fun with the story's context when it refers to your personal life." Jill groaned.

"I'm sorry, Jill. It was just too funny to pass up!" Mary added.

Suddenly, the pair realized the growing darkness that began enshrouding the Inn.

"Oh my! It's already night already? Oh no…. now it's too late for me to make the walk back home. I'll have to spend the night at Lumina's…" Mary sighed.

"What are you complaining about? That girl has some really nice beds! I'm surprised she'd let anyone stay over like that would any sort of compensation!" Jill gripped.

"But my parents tend to worry easily when I don't make it back in a timely, especially Mother. I suppose this will have to do now. On the plus side, it will be nice seeing Lumina again." replied Mary.

"You should get out of here ASAP, then. Don't want to worry anybody longer than necessary, do you?" Jill warned.

"This Inn has a phone, too. I can call my parents from here as well, so I don't see that big of a reason to be that posthaste."

"Oh… sorry, my bad."

"In any case, I'm glad I was able to help out on your story. farewell, Jillian!" Mary said with a wink.

"And a Good Night to you, Marylyn." Jill winked back.

And just like that, Mary left the room, leaving Jill alone for real this time. Instead of returning to her farm as she normally would, she decided to go on with her writing to write up the climactic battle her story was just about to get into. As her hand weaved across the paper like the wind, her mind was on one other thing that kept her going: gratitude.

"_Thanks a bunch, Mary! I'm going to make this climax the most epic one yet… for the both of us!"_


End file.
